An archaeology of salt production in Fiji.

An archaeology of salt production in Fiji. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Introduction Salt has played a pivotal role throughout world prehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to as anessential dietary supplement Noun 1. dietary supplement - something added to complete a diet or to make up for a dietary deficiencydiet - a prescribed selection of foodsvitamin pill - a pill containing one or more vitamins; taken as a dietary supplement , as a commodity for specialised productionand exchange and, for some societies, as the economic foundation uponwhich polities formed and wars were fought. Numerous researchersidentify salt access as central to the development of complex societies(Connah 1991; McKillop 1995; Lovejoy 2003). Flad et al. (2005: 12618)claim its presence in all early states. Not surprisingly there is aprofuse pro��fuse?adj.1. Plentiful; copious.2. Giving or given freely and abundantly; extravagant: were profuse in their compliments. archaeological literature on salt in antiquity from diverseareas across the globe. While much of this focuses on archaeologicaland/or historical evidence for salt processing and its context inculture history, there has been some concern surrounding its broaderrole in economic and social processes. Indeed, treating salt productionmore generally as craft production positions it within a robustliterature on craft specialisation, social aspects of production and theagency of producers, among other issues (see papers in Costin &Wright 1998; Flad & Hruby 2007a; Hirth 2009a). The following paper provides and interprets data for solarevaporation salt extraction in Fiji, an industry previously undocumentedwithin Oceanic prehistory. The short-lived salt-working site wasexcavated at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes on the island of Viti Levu Viti Levu(vē`tē lā`v)or Naviti Levu(nä–)anddates to the seventh century AD. We describe the site in its context,arguing for the employment of dedicated processing stations along theSigatoka shoreline using large ceramic saltpans. These data allow us toinfer specialised production, and they provide insights into itscontext, scale and organisation. We also explore the larger role of saltas a commodity in Fijian prehistory as well as its economic and socialvalue as a product for exchange. The current shortage of archaeologicaldata beyond Sigatoka makes these issues difficult to address, butscattered historical references to salt production and observations froma contemporary salt-making village at Lomawai, do provide insight intosocial and political processes at work, with potential implications forthe archaeology of salt production in Fiji. The archaeology of salt production at Sigatoka The Sigatoka Sand Dunes at the mouth of the Sigatoka River The Sigatoka River is located in the island of Viti Levu in Fiji and has its source on the western side of Mount Victoria and flows for 120 kilometers to the coast between the central and western ranges. on theCoral Coast Coral Coast is a region along Australia's western coast between the capital, Perth, stretching north to the town of Exmouth. It is named because of its unusual coral formations so far south. External linkshttp://www.australiascoralcoast.com of Viti Levu, Fiji, provide a unique and importantarchaeological complex for Fijian prehistory (Figure 1). Archaeologicalsites, buried episodically and rapidly by blowing sand over the past2700 years, are today reappearing as sand erodes from the dune frontslope (Marshall et al. 2000). Large-scale excavations here in 1965 byBirks (1973) provided insights into depositional processes, periods ofdune stability, chronology and ceramic prehistory. From within a buriedpalaeosol labelled 'Level 2', Birks (1973: 44-5) recovered nofewer than 17 'rough finished' shallow flat-bottomed'dishes' with diameters of 0.5m or more. He lists a range ofpotential functions for the vessels, one being for the evaporation ofsea water to make salt (Figure 2). More recent surveys at Sigatoka (Marshall et al. 2000; Burley bur��ley?n. pl. bur��leysA light-colored tobacco grown chiefly in Kentucky and used especially in making cigarettes.[Probably from the name Burley.] 2005)report widespread and, at times, extremely dense concentrations of thesedishes eroding from the palaeosol over a distance of 1 km along the sanddune sand duneHill, mound, or ridge of windblown sand or other loose material such as clay particles. Dunes are commonly associated with desert regions and seacoasts, and there are large areas of dunes in nonglacial parts of Antarctica. shoreline. Birk's dishes are inferred now to be salt trays andtheir locations to indicate solar evaporation salt processing stations,logistically positioned along the shoreline to take advantage of sun andwind exposure (Burley 2003). The salt trays are diagnostic of the Navatu phase at Sigatoka, amid-sequence period in Fijian prehistory, generally dated between AD 200and 1000 with regional variations (Clark 1999: 85; Burley 2005: 342).Navatu phase ceramics, other than trays, incorporate a variety of forms,importantly including a highly distinctive, well-fired, everted rimglobular globularresembling a globe.globular hearta spherical cardiac silhouette, usually greatly enlarged and lacking the detailed outline of the right and left atria and apex. Characteristic of pericardial effusion and cardiomyopathy. jar that frequently has carved paddle impression on the bodyand a decorative suite potentially including applied relief, end-tool orfinger nail impressions and incised patterns (Frost 1979; Marshall etal. 2000; Burley 2005). These jars are found in tandem Adv. 1. in tandem - one behind the other; "ride tandem on a bicycle built for two"; "riding horses down the path in tandem"tandem with the trays inthe salt processing areas (Figure 3). The Navatu phase settlement occurred in a small village close tothe mouth of the Sigatoka River at the eastern end of the dune (Figure1). Excavations in the village in 2000 and 2002 exposed or recovered avariety of habitation HABITATION, civil law. It was the right of a person to live in the house of another without prejudice to the property. 2. It differed from a usufruct in this, that the usufructuary might have applied the house to any purpose, as, a store or manufactory; whereas related features, ceramics, other artefacts andfaunal materials (Burley 2005). Tray fragments are notably rare in thevillage assemblage, including only three in a collection of almost 11000 ceramic sherds (Burley 2005: 327). A pooled mean age of radiocarbondates (n = 3) for the Navatu village places it in the interval 610-675cal AD at a 2[sigma] range. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Excavation of a salt processing station Excavations were undertaken at a salt processing station in 2006,located from sherds of salt trays about 1km west of the village site.The aim was to identify features or activity patterns associated withthe production process and to gain a better understanding of the ceramicassemblages. The project included mapping and collection of surfaceceramics as well as excavation of in situ In place. When something is "in situ," it is in its original location. material over a block area of45.5[m.sup.2] (Figures 4 & 5). At the time of use, the saltprocessing station would have been situated on a flat or slightly risingterrace overlooking the Sigatoka beachfront beach��front?n.A strip of land facing or running along a beach.adj.Situated along or having direct access to a beach: beachfront hotels; beachfront property.Noun 1. . It was strategicallypositioned to take advantage of sun and wind exposure for theevaporation process but continued to be within easy reach of thewater's edge. The former ground surface on which this activity tookplace is an inceptisol with well-defined A and B horizons (de Biran2001: 51). Horizon structure indicates a stabilised land surface that,as found by Best (1989: 48) elsewhere on the dune, may have beenconsolidated by stands of Casuarina casuarinaAny of the chiefly Australian trees that make up the genus Casuarina (family Casuarinaceae), which have whorls of scalelike leaves and segmented stems resembling horsetails. Several species, especially C. litoralis. A substantial cover ofdrift sand had buried the salt station, either causing abandonment orfollowing it. Blowing sand, in fact, may have forced an exodus not onlyfrom this locale but the Navatu phase village as well (Burley 2005:327). [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] [FIGURE 3 OMITTED] [FIGURE 4 OMITTED] Excavation of the processing station revealed minimal if anyinfrastructure. Ceramic fragments were spread across the area, from acentral focus 1 m in diameter where there was a large segment of tray insitu. Faunal remains and artefacts other than ceramics were absent. Thepresence of only two small postholes suggests the trays were employed onthe surface during use, rather than raised on platforms. A small hearthto the north-east is too limited in size or intensity for saltextraction from a boiling operation or for use in the firing of trays orjars. Diagnostic of the dedicated nature of the salt processingoperation was the exclusive occurrence of only two types of ceramicvessel: trays (n = 7890 sherds) and the everted rim Navatu jars (n =2090 sherds) (Figure 3). By comparison, equivalent sized excavations inthe Navatu village in 2000 recovered nine other Navatu jar and bowlforms (Burley 2005: 327). The jars, we suggest, were for water transportand the trays were installed on an exposed and levelled surface asevaporation pans (Burley 2003: 313). [FIGURE 5 OMITTED] Salt tray manufacture The salt trays are large flat-bottomed vessels with ovoid o��voidor o��voi��daln.Something that is shaped like an egg.adj.Shaped like an egg; oviform.ovoidhaving the oval shape of an egg.ovoid bodycolloid body. tocircular platter-like forms. They are manufactured of tephra-based dayswith little care for aesthetic concern or consistency in stylisticelements. Coarse mineral sands of variable size were added as temper.Diameters range from 0.52-0.78m with estimated rim heights for 2006specimens up to 65mm. Tray weights vary based on vessel shape anddiameter. A 0.76m diameter circular vessel with almost complete rimcourse has a calculated weight of 12.5kg. The size and weight of trays, and the limitations this creates inconstruction, firing and transport has been highlighted by Birks (1973:45): 'Without sides high enough to give it additional strength, avessel of this size, made of clay fired at a low temperature would bevery fragile, and it seems unlikely that it could have been lifted evenafter firing without breaking under its own weight. [...] The conclusionu therefore reached that each [...] dish was probably dried, fuel placedon top of it, and the vessel fired and subsequently used on the spotwhere it was made.' The problem of collapse during the formation of the tray waspartially resolved by making it on a bed of leaves, twigs or mats.Impressions of these materials occur on the underside of virtually everybase sherd. This matted layer could have provided support duringsun-drying and would have facilitated transfer of the tray to a firinghearth. A probable firing hearth was excavated 70m east of the saltprocessing station. It took the form of a 1 x 1.5m shallow scoopcontaining charcoal, fire-broken volcanic stone, coral limestone piecesand large pottery sherds, including tray fragments (Figure 6).Pre-heated, these stones and sherds would act as a foundation thatretained and distributed heat over the vessel surface during firing,aided by additional fuel heaped inside the tray as suggested by Birks.We believe this type of preparation was the only way a vessel of thissize and form could be fired on an open hearth (Metal.) the shallow hearth of a reverberatory furnace.See also: Open . [FIGURE 6 OMITTED] Appropriate potting clay does not occur at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes,nor do some other of the materials required in the production and firingprocess for tray manufacture. Clay, volcanic stone and limestone cobbles cob��ble?1?n.1. A cobblestone.2. Geology A rock fragment between 64 and 256 millimeters in diameter, especially one that has been naturally rounded.3. cobbles See cob coal.tr. would need to be transported to the site, in most cases over a distanceof 1km or more. A basket-sized quantity of unfired clay with degradedcoral limestone cobbles found eroding from the dune surface in 2002supports this idea (Burley 2005). Fuel for the firing process could becollected as driftwood along the beachfront, where large hardwood logsfrequently wash ashore. Whether this was fully adequate for both trayproduction and domestic use in the village is unknown; additional fuelsmight also need to be imported. Diana Tugea, a master potter from Nakabuta village on the SigatokaRiver, was engaged in 2002 to replicate a Navatu phase tray for a saltprocessing evaporation experiment. She was given a descriptive template,and further shown archaeological sherds from the Sigatoka Sand Dunes.Diana employed local clay mixed with fine-grained iron sand temper fromthe Sigatoka delta. Her initial two attempts failed in their firing onan open hearth where the trays broke, either as a result of inadequateheat distribution, inappropriate temper, or both. A third effortproduced a 0.40 x 0.35m tray weighing 9.5kg that, while cracked infiring, was usable after patching (Figure 7). The tray fabric wassemi-porous, a characteristic that we again attribute to inadequatefiring and temper. When filled with salt water, the fabric saturated andslowly drained requiring a relatively continuous addition of fluid.Despite this problem, and cloudy weather conditions limitingevaporation, an incipient salt crust formed on the rim and surface ofthe tray with the cumulative addition of 6.5 litres of saltwater.Substantial variation in manufacture between archaeological trays andthe contemporary one create a poor analogy for inference of the saltproduction process during the Navatu phase. The experiment, however,emphasises the difficulty in tray manufacture, and the specialisedconstruction and firing processes required. [FIGURE 7 OMITTED] Characteristics of the Sigatoka industry The use of dedicated processing stations for evaporation ofseawater seawaterWater that makes up the oceans and seas. Seawater is a complex mixture of 96.5% water, 2.5% salts, and small amounts of other substances. Much of the world's magnesium is recovered from seawater, as are large quantities of bromine. and the manufacture of evaporation pans is paralleled inseveral other areas throughout the globe (Chiang 1976; Andrews 1983;Muller 1984). Craft specialisation in salt or other commodities providessurpluses for exchange, where a producer's essential needs are metin whole or in part through barter, or through the support of managerialelites for whom the commodity is produced (Stein 1996: 25). A series ofcorrelates from which specialised production can reasonably be arguedhas been offered by Evans (1978:115), including specialised areas forcraft activities, specialised tools, exploitation of particularresources, and integration of the product in trade and exchange systems.The Sigatoka complex, it can be suggested, meets such requirements. Fladand Hrubry (2007b: 6) nevertheless argue that meeting the'standards' of specialisation should not be a focus in and ofitself. Rather 'such studies should explore the various parametersthat comprise the organization of production. 'Here we examine fourof these - the context of production, the intensity of production, thescale of production and the organisation of production. We infer that the context and economic raison d'etre rai��son d'����tre?n. pl. rai��sons d'��treReason or justification for existing.[French : raison, reason + de, of, for + ��tre, to be. for saltharvesting at Sigatoka, on any level of production, was for trade tonon-coastal communities where salt was required as a dietary supplement.Coastal peoples themselves with access to seawater and at least apartial diet of marine foods have limited need to process salt fordomestic use. The intensity of production depends on whether saltprocessing at Sigatoka was a year long or seasonal undertaking, andwhether the producers were full- or part-time participants. Solarevaporation of seawater is conditioned by a range of factors includingrainfall patterns, sunlight hours, sunlight intensity, wind andvariations in salinity among others (Akridge 2008). At Sigatoka there isacure variation in these conditions associated with well-defined wet ordry seasons. The wet season occurs in the November to April period when75 per cent of Fiji's annual precipitation occurs (Harris 1963).Greater numbers of rainy days correlates with fewer sunlight hours whilewet season weather patterns are additionally defined and impacted bytropical cyclones and intensified storm activity (Parry 1997). Coastaland interior precipitation rates vary, with rain shadow effect of themountainous interior enhancing accumulated totals in the upper SigatokaValley. This results in a substantially greater wet season dischargefrom the Sigatoka River that, concomitantly, reduces salinity along thecoastal margin where salt was being processed. We argue, thus, that theefficiency of salt production is substantially lowered in wet seasonmonths, if salt can be produced with any regularity at all. The absenceof infrastructure in the excavated salt processing station, as would berequired for shelter from periodic rainfalls or storms, supports theinference of a dry season harvest by intermittent producers. The scale of production should be indicated by the number ofdiscarded trays. We estimate a minimum of nine to ten trays within the2006 excavated assemblage based on a cumulative sherd weight of 91.2kgand an assumption that the average tray weighs 9.5-10kg. This number, itis argued, should be multiplied by a factor of ten to account for densesurface concentrations of trays previously documented (Marshall et al.2000: 29) and those remaining buried in situ. Further assuming that anaverage tray has a 0.65m diameter, and that the typical salt crust in a65mm deep vessel after full evaporation is 5mm, a single processingevent results in 1.66 litres of salt. Akridge (2008: 1457) calculatesthat solar evaporation of a 5mm salt layer in Chinese wooden pans with a25-60mm depth takes five days. Employing only a third of the trayspotentially present (n = 30), upwards of 900 litres of salt could beproduced in five-day processing shifts over a three month period atSigatoka. Multiple processing stations, prolonged dry season productionand/or greater numbers of trays in use at the same time not only enhancethis volume but imply a sizeable scale of production for the industry. Finally, the organisational context might be suggested ashousehold-based rather than centralized elite-control, arguing from thedispersed processing nodes. There exists no recognisable advantage orfunctional explanation for separate production areas otherwise. Muller(1984) and de Leon (2009) convincingly argue for household-basedorganisation in their respective reassessments of Mississippian andAztec salt industries; Hirth (2009b: 4) reports its widespreadapplicability to craft production generally. If the salt was notproduced for local use (above) it becomes an economic supplement tohousehold subsistence. Archaeological evidence in the Navatu villagesuggests food stress for the salt processing community (Burley 2005:332). Salt harvesting in this light may have been a primary basis uponwhich the household economy was centred. In a comprehensive studydocumenting a millennium of salt-making procedures and equipment betweenthe Middle Iron Age and the end of the Roman period in the Fenland ofeastern England, Morris (2001: 397) notes cases where salt probablyrepresents the major source of household income, even though full-timeproduction was impossible due to a variety of weather conditions. Discussion: context and analogies Initial settlement of the upper Sigatoka Valley and interiorhighlands began 2000 years ago with a small and dispersed population.Field (2003: 258-9) suggests a food exchange system was in place almostimmediately, given the presence of non-local riparian riparianadj. referring to the banks of a river or stream. (See: riparian rights) clams (Batissaviolacea) in one of the earliest sites. Between 1500 and 1000 years agoarchaeological site distributions indicate a population expansion thatfilled the valley bottom and foothills. It seems not coincidental thatthe beginning of this expansion period coincides with the suddenappearance of salt processing activities at Sigatoka. We suggest theprocurement of salt facilitates, if not critically underpins, thisexpansion. The expanding interior settlement resulted in deforestation deforestationProcess of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. ,slope erosion and increased sediment load in the Sigatoka River, thelatter being a factor for enhanced sand dune growth at the mouth of theriver (Dickinson et al. 1998). Ironically, the same inland populationthat created a demand for salt may have been an agent for the demise ofits production at Sigatoka. The Sigatoka River continued to provide a principal corridor intointerior highland communities, and is later well-documented as a routefor coastal/interior trade. Historical references by Tonganivalu (1917:9) and Williams (1858: 94) specifically highlight salt as a component ofthis exchange, leading Tanner (1996: 234) to claim salt as a resourceboth prized and essential. There are few descriptions of indigenous saltproduction in Fiji. The most detailed of these by Williams (1858: 71)for the island of Vanua Levu Vanua Levu(vän`ä lā`v notes only that it is 'good salt, butof a sandy colour', and that it is "procured by evaporation,and preserved near the fire in baskets made for the purpose" Ratherthan solar evaporation, this reference suggests a brine boilingoperation. Indigenous Fijian salt processing continues to be practiced in asingle village, Lomawai, on the western coast of Viti Levu to thenorth-west of Sigatoka. Merewairite Butani, a Lomawai elder who wasinstructed in traditional practices of salt-making in her youth, iscredited with a resurgence of this industry in the 1990s. In a 2006interview in Lomawai, she explained and demonstrated her salt-extractionprocess, one based on the boiling of brine. Saltwater is acquired at lowtide from two excavated collection ponds in the adjacent mangrove mangrove,large tropical evergreen tree, genus Rhizophora, that grows on muddy tidal flats and along protected ocean shorelines. Mangroves are most abundant in tropical Asia, Africa, and the islands of the SW Pacific. swamp.Brine reduction is then accomplished through boiling in a large diameterheavy gauge aluminium boiler over an open fire in a speciallyconstructed 'cooking house' on shore. This producesapproximately 150-200mm of salt in the pot after a full day of boiling.The salt is packed into 1 litre milk cartons for shaping into blocks andthe block then finished with a dogo dina, a woven basket-like fringemade from the inner bark of the mangrove. The Lomawai chief, Ratu Kini Vosailagi, described Lomawai as one ofseveral former salt-making villages along the Coral Coast of Viti Levu,stretching from Malomalo on the south to Yako on the north butimportantly including Tau, Nabila and Nakorokula. The antiquity of thisgroup of villages in the production of Fijian salt is attested to inThomson's (1908: 203) statement that, historically, 'salt cameonly from the salt-pans of the mangrove swamps' Salt was producedlargely for trade, for presentation as prestige goods to visitingchiefs, or for presentation at traditional events. In keeping with thisstatement, the salt being produced during the 2006 visit was to be givento members of the Nadroga/Navosa Provincial Council Provincial councils are organisational bodies within the Gaelic Athletic Association, each made up of several GAA counties. The provincial council is responsible for the organisation of club and inter-county competitions such as the Provincial championships, and the promotion of who were about tomeet at Lomawai. Ratu Vosailagi believed traditional salt was aninstrumental component of Lomawai economy and prestige, and itsproduction forged political and social alliances for the coastalvillages of western Viti Levu. Ratu Vosailagi's comments on the role of salt as both anecessity and a prestige item, and on its importance in theestablishment of social and political relations, relates precisely toongoing concerns for craft production studies in general. Appropriatelysummed up by Flad and Hruby (2007b: 3), we must be concerned with thesocial aspect of production and the creation and perpetuation of socialties as a consequence. Salt producers and their product are givenagency, rather than being passive components within an economic exchangenetwork (Costin 1998; Clark 2007). When salt moved beyond a purelydomestic need into the prestige system of chiefly elites in Fiji isdifficult to determine. That it occurred prior to European contact isanticipated in the historic observations of Williams (1858: 94) whosuccinctly reports that the "Inland tribes of the Great Fiji [VitiLevu] take yaqona [kava] to the coast, receiving in exchanges mats, masi[bark cloth bark cloth,primitive fabric made in tropical and subtropical countries from the soft inner bark of certain trees. It has been made and used in parts of Africa and India, the Malay Peninsula, Samoa, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Fiji Islands and perhaps reached its ], and fine salt." The equivalence of fine salt withmats and masi is significant, for the latter are well-integratedprestige goods in traditional Fijian society. Salt, as both necessityand a prestige item, blurs a classificatory distinction central to manyarchaeological studies concerned with value, accessibility and the roleof prestige goods in systems of emergent complexity (Flad & Hruby2007b: 9). Fijian society is foremost organised at the village level withgroups of associated villages traditionally forming vanua. Inter-villagesalt production, as highlighted by Ratu Vosailagi, seems a catalyst inthis type of political consolidation for western Viti Levu, as well as amechanism through which social and political ties were maintained. Withone exception, the distribution of sites having Navatu phase salt trayfragments is geographically restricted, most within the immediatevicinity of Sigatoka (Frost 1979; Burley & Tache 2008).Hypothetically at least, this cluster of sites may have formed a socialand political unit of the type later found at Lomawai. The exception is Karobo, 70km east of Sigatoka where several salttrays were excavated in the 1960s (Anderson & Clark 2009). TheKarobo site parallels the salt processing station at Sigatoka in mostrespects. It was positioned on an exposed sand dune/spit of land onKorobo Beach. Trays and jars are the only two ceramic vessel formspresent. The Navatu everted rito globular jar is absent but Clark(1999:159) describes a very high degree of consistency in jar form.Faunal remains were not recovered and non-ceramic artefacts include onlytwo specimens (Anderson & Clark 2009: 108). Most important, Korobois 6.5km east of the Navua River The Navua River is located in the island of Viti Levu in Fiji and has its source on the south east slope of Mount Gordon and flows for 65 kilometers to the south coast. It is noted for the scenic beauty of the rugged mountaun country through which it flows. , another of the major waterwaysextending into the interior highlands of Viti Levu. We suggest Karoborepresents either an extension of the Sigatoka salt processing group ofsites or, potentially, it is part of an independent unit focused oninland trade along the Navua River. Conclusion The short-lived seventh-century AD solar-based extraction ofsea-salt that took place in the Sigatoka Sand Dunes provides a firstsnapshot of a prehistoric island industry that must have been widelypractised in the Pacific. Associated with the Navatu phase in Fijianprehistory, the industry employed large and heavy evaporation trays thatin themselves were a specialised contingent craft. The trays were usedin discrete salt processing nodes along the Sigatoka shoreline,intentionally positioned away flora the Navatu phase village. We feel secure in our assertion that salt was being processed atSigatoka for trade with non-coastal peoples. We also believe theevidence supports an interpretation that salt processing was seasonal,capable of production at a reasonably high scale, and was probably beingundertaken by individual households acting as intermittent producers.The salt extraction industry documented at Lomawai 1300 years laterrelied on boiling brine collected in mangrove swamps, bur offersanalogies to the earlier craft: the salt was supplied to users upriveras both a dietary supplement and prestige item. Later salt processingwas also a catalyst for the development of social and politicalrelations among salt producing communities. This latter observation haspotential implications for interpreting the distribution of saltprocessing sites during the Navatu phase. The production of salt through solar evaporation of sea water wasnot long lived in Fijian prehistory. We can only speculate as to why,given the importance of salt within the coastal/interior exchangenetwork in the historic era. The development of a mangrove saltwaterpond and boiling process might have proven more efficient. Alternativelymangrove salt may have produced a different and more attractive type ofproduct. It may also be that the costs of solar evaporation, includingthe manufacture of large ceramic salt trays, simply outweighed the valueof its return. Acknowledgements Each of the field projects at Sigatoka described in the text wasundertaken as part of Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University,main campus at Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; provincially supported; coeducational; chartered 1963, opened 1965. The Harbour Centre campus in downtown Vancouver opened in 1989. field schools inarchaeological field methods between 2000 and 2006. We are grateful tothe numerous students who participated in these field programs and thankthem for their efforts. We also are grateful to Savaneka Dau and GeorgeTrail from Kulukulu village, Sepeti Matararaba, Fiji Museum The Fiji Museum is a museum in Suva Fiji located in the capital city's botanical gardens.The museum houses an extensive archaeological collection dating back 3,700 years and relics of Fiji's indigenous cultural history. , and AndrewBarton for their outstanding contributions to our programs over theyears. Fieldwork at Sigatoka was conducted with permission or permitfrom the National Trust for Fiji, Fiji Museum, Fiji Ministry ofImmigration immigration,entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. and Mr Chris Work, Kulukulu village, who owns a largesegment of the eastern dune end. Simon Fraser University InternationalPrograms and the Social Sciences Humanities and Research Council ofCanada provided funding support to Burley. To each of the preceding weare indebted. Received: 5 August 2009; Revised: 28 January 2010; Accepted: 5March 2010 References AKRIDGE, G.D. 2008. Methods for calculating brine evaporation ratedduring salt production. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 1453-62. ANDERSON, A. & G. CLARK. 2009. Fieldwork in southern Vit Levuand Beqa Island, in G. Clark & A. Anderson (ed.) The earlyprehistory of Fiji (Terra Australia 31): 87-120. Canberra: ANU Anu(ā`n), ancient sky god of Sumerian origin, worshiped in Babylonian religion. E-Press. ANDREWS, A.E 1983. Maya salt production and trade. Tucson (AZ):University of Arizona (body, education) University of Arizona - The University was founded in 1885 as a Land Grant institution with a three-fold mission of teaching, research and public service. Press. BEST, S. 1989. The Sigatoka dune burials. 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Burley (1), Karine Tache (2), Margaret Purser (3) &Ratu Jone Balenaivalu (4) (1) Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby,BC, V5A 1S6, Canada (Email: burley@sfu.ca) (2) Department of Anthropology, Universite de Montreal, C.P. 6128,Centre-ville, Montreal, QC H3C3J7, Canada (3) Department of Anthropology, Sonoma State University Notes1. ^ [1]2. ^ "Sonoma State Music Center Has Detractors" by Sara Lipka Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct.5, 2007External linksOfficial website Official athletics website Department websites , 1801 EastCotati Ave, Rohnert Park, CA 94928-3609, USA (4) Fiji Museum, P.O. Box 2023, Government Buildings, Suva The Government Buildings in Suva are the offices of the executive wing of Government of Fiji. Built in the late 1930s, the buildings house the Prime Minister of Fiji's offices, the High Court, and government ministries. , FijiIslands